Fornix of the Brain

Contents

Introduction

A brief structural organization of the cerebrum was outlined under the topic “Cerebral Cortex”, in which the human brain commissures (the commissural fibers) was defined as a category of white matter of the cerebral hemisphere which connects identical areas of the cortices (singular: cortex) of right and left cerebral hemispheres (that is, they interconnect identical in the two hemispheres). Other categories of white matter tract include the Projection fibers and Association fibers. It was also mentioned that the corpus callosum is the largest of the commissural fibers. Other commissures of the brain includes the following:

Anterior commissure

Fornix

Posterior commissure

However, the fornix does not only connect identical areas across the two cerebral hemispheres, as indicated in the definition above, but also connects different structures belonging to and that have common functions. The fornix primarily function to connect the:

All of these brain structures – hippocampus, hypothalamus, thalamus, septal nuclei, as well as the amygdala, cingulate cortex, entorhinal cortex, perirhinal cortex, parahippocampal cortex, reticular formation of the midbrain, and the olfactory areas constitutes a system known as the Limbic System. The limbic system is involved in motivation, emotion, learning, memory, as well as other cognitive functions, and the system forms the area of the brain where the subcortical structures meet the cerebral cortex.

Some authors describe the “Limbic”, which is a Latin word for “border”, as an intermediate or transition state, which is a border. Hence in the case of the limbic system of the brain, the system forms a border between the neocortex and the subcortical structures (the diencephalon). Therefore, the fornix is a commissural fiber of the brain that forms an integral part of the limbic system, and it is important for the transfer of complex cognitive information between the cerebral hemispheres.

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Development

Embryogenesis of the fornix begins as two fiber bundles arising in the area of precommissuralis and passes dorsally into the hippocampal primordium of the lamina reunions (lamina terminalis). Those fibers (future fornices – pleural for fornix) pass towards the medial wall of their ipsilateral hemispheric vesicle as early as week 8 of intra-uterine life, and diverge as they do so. By weeks 10 and 11, some of the fornical fibers cross the midline and form the early hippocampal commissure. During the 14 – 15 weeks of development, glial cells (expressing acidic proteins) appear around the fornix to support and nourish the development of the fornix. Myelination of fornical fibers is only evident at about some few weeks to term, that is, towards the end of the 9th month of pregnancy, with the presence of myelin basic proteins. Myelination in the hippocampus proper, continues even after embryonic life and increases in childhood until adolescence. The early fornix is a short and slightly curved bundle containing more hippocampal-septal or septohippocampal fibers that connect the hippocampus to the septal area.

Gross Anatomy

The fornix is a C-shaped bundle of fibrous commissural fibers (axons) that extends from the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies of the hypothalamus, the anterior nuclei of the thalamus, and forms an arch over the thalamus. It is located on the medial aspects of the cerebral hemispheres. Components of the fornix lie to both sides of the mid-sagittal plane and connect with each other across that plane.

The fornix is comprised of a body, a posterior part called the crura or “legs” (singular: crus), which further extend posteriorly as the alveus- and finally the fimbria of the hippocampus. The fimbria is prolonged into the uncus of the parahippocampal gyrus. The fornix is also made up of an anterior part, which like the posterior part, is an anterior extension of the body of fornix. This anterior part is called the columns of the fornix.

The fornix is a prominent bundle of fibers seen on the medial aspects of the cerebral hemispheres, and it is predominantly made up of fibers arising in the hippocampus as fimbria. These fibers (fimbria) extend anteriorly, giving off some lateral strands of fibers which forms the alveus of the head of the hippocampus.

The main bulk of fimbria continues on each side of the cerebral hemisphere further anteriorly to form the crus of the fornix. Both crura (in the left and right hemispheres) continues anteriorly and merge to form a midline part of the fornix called the body of the fornix (which belong to both the right and left hemispheres). The body of the fornix is suspended from the corpus callosum by the septal pellucidum and comes into close relationship with the tela choroidae in the roof of the 3rd ventricle.

The body of the fornix extends anteriorly and divides at the level of the anterior commissure into the right and left halves called the columns of the fornix (which are the precommissural fornix and the postcommissural fornix). Each column turns downwards just in front of the interventricular foramen of Monro and passes through the hypothalamus to reach the mammillary body.

The precommissural fornix are the fibers that descend in front of the anterior commissure. The postcommissural fornix lie behind the anterior commissure. Some other fibers of the fornix pass above the splenium of the corpus callosum to reach the structures above the corpus callosum. Those fibers constitutes the dorsal fornix.

In addition, the left and right crura of the fornix, communicates with each other across the midline by the partially decussating fibers called commissures of the fornix or hippocampal commissure (commissure of psalterium Davidi or David’s lyre). The commissure of psalterium Davidi provides one of the major communicating pathway between the hippocampi of the left and right hemispheres.

Connections of the Fornix

The following are the main connections of the fornix:

Hippocampal commissure: These are fibers of the fornix interconnecting the hippocampi of the two cerebral hemispheres.

Fibers from the postcommissural fornix connects the hippocampus to the mammillary body of the hypothalamus. Those fibers are then relayed to the anterior nucleus of the thalamus.

Some fibers of the fornix connects, directly, the hypothalamus, while some others also directly connects the anterior nucleus of the thalamus.

Fibers from the precommissural fornix connects the hippocampus to the septal nuclei, preoptic nuclei, ventral striatum, orbital cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. Some of those fibers from the precommissural fornix turn backwards to enter the stria medullaris thalami and reach the habenular nuclei.

Fibers from the dorsal fornix reach the splenial gyrus and the gyrus cinguli.

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